Mr. Scot
The Voice of Reason
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Hate to say it, but for my money the team in general looked a little off today, especially the quarterbacks. Happily, it’s still just minicamp. That doesn’t mean everything was negative, mind you, but overall it was rather blah.
What I saw in the practices today...
OUT ON THE SIDEWALK:
As was covered on Panthers.com, some fans decided to have a little tailgate outside the practice today. I had to chuckle when I walked up and saw the setup they had. A few of the players even took part, getting a snack or two.
Like yesterday, Jerry Richardson came out for the afternoon practice, but not the morning one. He spent pretty much all his time on the cart talking to Marty Hurney.
Team president Danny Morrison was out again, making friends and handing out rosters. In each of the three practices I attended, I was given a roster. Twice, it was Morrison who gave it to me. Have to appreciate the work he’s doing.
Also saw Brian Baker walk up and have a fan ask if his guys were ready. His response? “We have four months to get ready” (aaaahhh, that’d be a no).
Steve Smith signed a few pre-practice autographs.
Jon Beason, Jamar Williams and Mortty Ivy all came running up together. Fox came up behind, commenting to fans “I think they’re too busy to stop for autographs.”
Dexter Jackson has kind of a strange, 19th century looking beard.
Louis Leonard has a gap in his front teeth, though nowhere near as large as that other guy who’s known for a gappy grin (what was his name again…I forget…)
Rookie corner R J Stanford has some words tattooed on his neck. Didn’t get a good enough look to see what they said.
Hard to miss Tony Pike when he walks up since he’s the only non-lineman who’s 6’6”.
Gamble no longer has any dreads (not sure when he lost them).
And just as a side note, it’s actually kind of amusing watching guys try to walk normally on a sidewalk wearing cleats.
THE WALLFLOWERS:
Jonathan Stewart out as usual. He practices less than Allen Iverson, but plays as well as Iverson in his prime on game day too.
DeAngelo Williams also not in the mix, and no Thomas Davis today.
The Tyler boys - Brayton and Tank - sat out of the D-Line work, though Brayton spent a fair amount of time in one session working against a tackling dummy on his own.
(at one point I think it must have trash-talked him or something because I saw him grab it and knee it in the nuts)
QUARTERBACK OBSERVATIONS:
First pass of the day that I saw was an overthrow from Cantwell aimed at Kenny Moore. In a way, that set the tone for the practices to come. Quarterbacks were off target pretty much all day. Too high, too low, wide left, wide right…You name it, they threw it. In fairness to the QBs, more than a few passes that actually were on target wound up being dropped. But still, it just wasn’t their day.
Best looking QB of the day? You could make an argument it was Jimmy Clausen. While Clausen had his off moments too, he also had some where he looked brilliant. He’s not as slow to react as yesterday, and on one play threw a brilliant fake (by brilliant I mean that it fooled me). He also at one point put a bullet of a pass in Jeff King’s gut that I’m surprised didn’t go right through him. As mentioned though, he wasn’t immune from mistakes, among them a bad choice on a pass play that resulted in a pick by Chris Gamble.
The broad gap of superiority Moore had yesterday was lessened today. Was Moore still largely better? Maybe, but he had a day full of overthrows, miscommunication, and grounders. One particularly bad miscue led to a pickoff by Sherrod Martin that he enthusiastically ran back. That play was one I’m sure he’d like to have back.
Before you bail on Moore though, you should take note of something else that happened today.
After a rather badly thrown pass, Moore’s demeanor and body language took a rather sharp turn. He looked extremely pissed off - apparently at himself - and when he stepped to the line for the next play, things were a little different. It started with his cadence, which was louder and more authoritative, and continued with his execution. On each of the next four plays I watched, Moore was efficient and his passes were crisply thrown and on target.
Bottom Line: The quarterback position will be fun to watch come time for training camp.
Additional QB Notes:
Coach Rip Scherer had the guys practicing some subtle hand and head fakes in individual drills.
Matt Moore’s head swivels a lot more than the other QBs. The others tend to focus in one direction.
Clausen’s mechanics are incredibly precise. Watch him throw the ball twenty times and the last one will look exactly like the first one.
Tony Pike was the only quarterback I saw do much scrambling today. The others all tended toward straight dropbacks.
Pike had a nice toss or two, but he’s not in the class of Moore or Clausen at this point. Right now, he looks like he’s competing for a roster spot. That could change, of course. We’ll see.
THE BUBBLE GUYS:
Runningback duties today were split between new acquisition Josh Vaughan (#40) who looked decent, and Mike Goodson. Didn’t see Tyrell Sutton out there. Could have been hurt, but I hadn’t heard anything. Just as likely the team has seen what they need to see and decided to take a look at Mike Goodson.
Unknown whether Goodson believes his job is in danger, but he worked hard today to give the team a lot to think about. That’s a good thing, honestly. It’s better if Goodson can show himself to be a contributor since it gives the team more options and it means they didn’t waste a draft pick when they took him.
As to Dwayne Jarrett, saw more good than bad from him today. He had a really nice spinning catch during scrimmage. During goal line drills he rolled Charles Godfrey after Godfrey got in his way on a route (didn’t look like it took much effort).
Jarrett’s still firmly in the number two receiver spot, and will likely remain there until further notice barring unforeseen developments. Preseason will probably be what tells the tale, as he’s been known at times to look better in practice than against actual competition. Stay tuned.
ROOKIE REPORTS:
Armanti Edwards continues to impress. One of the better visuals of the day came when Hunter Cantwell threw a pass a little behind him. Edwards caught it with one hand (his left) right on his hip. Like yesterday, nothing that came close to him hit the ground while I was watching. He could be the real deal, but then as the saying goes, lots of guys do well in shorts and not so well in pads.
Brandon LaFell had some flashes, especially on one really nice long pass from Clausen. One pass that was thrown high to him went off his hands. He’ll need to pull those down if he really wants to be the guy. Overall not bad, though. He still doesn’t quite stand out like Edwards, but his game speed is good and I have some hope that he’ll be impressive come time for training camp.
Caught a little of the work being done by Jordan Pugh and Aaron Francisco. They’re certainly athletic, but safety is a tough position to evaluate with no pads. Credit to Francisco for at one point recognizing a gap in the defensive formation and pointing it out.
What I saw in the practices today...
OUT ON THE SIDEWALK:
As was covered on Panthers.com, some fans decided to have a little tailgate outside the practice today. I had to chuckle when I walked up and saw the setup they had. A few of the players even took part, getting a snack or two.
Like yesterday, Jerry Richardson came out for the afternoon practice, but not the morning one. He spent pretty much all his time on the cart talking to Marty Hurney.
Team president Danny Morrison was out again, making friends and handing out rosters. In each of the three practices I attended, I was given a roster. Twice, it was Morrison who gave it to me. Have to appreciate the work he’s doing.
Also saw Brian Baker walk up and have a fan ask if his guys were ready. His response? “We have four months to get ready” (aaaahhh, that’d be a no).
Steve Smith signed a few pre-practice autographs.
Jon Beason, Jamar Williams and Mortty Ivy all came running up together. Fox came up behind, commenting to fans “I think they’re too busy to stop for autographs.”
Dexter Jackson has kind of a strange, 19th century looking beard.
Louis Leonard has a gap in his front teeth, though nowhere near as large as that other guy who’s known for a gappy grin (what was his name again…I forget…)
Rookie corner R J Stanford has some words tattooed on his neck. Didn’t get a good enough look to see what they said.
Hard to miss Tony Pike when he walks up since he’s the only non-lineman who’s 6’6”.
Gamble no longer has any dreads (not sure when he lost them).
And just as a side note, it’s actually kind of amusing watching guys try to walk normally on a sidewalk wearing cleats.
THE WALLFLOWERS:
Jonathan Stewart out as usual. He practices less than Allen Iverson, but plays as well as Iverson in his prime on game day too.
DeAngelo Williams also not in the mix, and no Thomas Davis today.
The Tyler boys - Brayton and Tank - sat out of the D-Line work, though Brayton spent a fair amount of time in one session working against a tackling dummy on his own.
(at one point I think it must have trash-talked him or something because I saw him grab it and knee it in the nuts)
QUARTERBACK OBSERVATIONS:
First pass of the day that I saw was an overthrow from Cantwell aimed at Kenny Moore. In a way, that set the tone for the practices to come. Quarterbacks were off target pretty much all day. Too high, too low, wide left, wide right…You name it, they threw it. In fairness to the QBs, more than a few passes that actually were on target wound up being dropped. But still, it just wasn’t their day.
Best looking QB of the day? You could make an argument it was Jimmy Clausen. While Clausen had his off moments too, he also had some where he looked brilliant. He’s not as slow to react as yesterday, and on one play threw a brilliant fake (by brilliant I mean that it fooled me). He also at one point put a bullet of a pass in Jeff King’s gut that I’m surprised didn’t go right through him. As mentioned though, he wasn’t immune from mistakes, among them a bad choice on a pass play that resulted in a pick by Chris Gamble.
The broad gap of superiority Moore had yesterday was lessened today. Was Moore still largely better? Maybe, but he had a day full of overthrows, miscommunication, and grounders. One particularly bad miscue led to a pickoff by Sherrod Martin that he enthusiastically ran back. That play was one I’m sure he’d like to have back.
Before you bail on Moore though, you should take note of something else that happened today.
After a rather badly thrown pass, Moore’s demeanor and body language took a rather sharp turn. He looked extremely pissed off - apparently at himself - and when he stepped to the line for the next play, things were a little different. It started with his cadence, which was louder and more authoritative, and continued with his execution. On each of the next four plays I watched, Moore was efficient and his passes were crisply thrown and on target.
Bottom Line: The quarterback position will be fun to watch come time for training camp.
Additional QB Notes:
Coach Rip Scherer had the guys practicing some subtle hand and head fakes in individual drills.
Matt Moore’s head swivels a lot more than the other QBs. The others tend to focus in one direction.
Clausen’s mechanics are incredibly precise. Watch him throw the ball twenty times and the last one will look exactly like the first one.
Tony Pike was the only quarterback I saw do much scrambling today. The others all tended toward straight dropbacks.
Pike had a nice toss or two, but he’s not in the class of Moore or Clausen at this point. Right now, he looks like he’s competing for a roster spot. That could change, of course. We’ll see.
THE BUBBLE GUYS:
Runningback duties today were split between new acquisition Josh Vaughan (#40) who looked decent, and Mike Goodson. Didn’t see Tyrell Sutton out there. Could have been hurt, but I hadn’t heard anything. Just as likely the team has seen what they need to see and decided to take a look at Mike Goodson.
Unknown whether Goodson believes his job is in danger, but he worked hard today to give the team a lot to think about. That’s a good thing, honestly. It’s better if Goodson can show himself to be a contributor since it gives the team more options and it means they didn’t waste a draft pick when they took him.
As to Dwayne Jarrett, saw more good than bad from him today. He had a really nice spinning catch during scrimmage. During goal line drills he rolled Charles Godfrey after Godfrey got in his way on a route (didn’t look like it took much effort).
Jarrett’s still firmly in the number two receiver spot, and will likely remain there until further notice barring unforeseen developments. Preseason will probably be what tells the tale, as he’s been known at times to look better in practice than against actual competition. Stay tuned.
ROOKIE REPORTS:
Armanti Edwards continues to impress. One of the better visuals of the day came when Hunter Cantwell threw a pass a little behind him. Edwards caught it with one hand (his left) right on his hip. Like yesterday, nothing that came close to him hit the ground while I was watching. He could be the real deal, but then as the saying goes, lots of guys do well in shorts and not so well in pads.
Brandon LaFell had some flashes, especially on one really nice long pass from Clausen. One pass that was thrown high to him went off his hands. He’ll need to pull those down if he really wants to be the guy. Overall not bad, though. He still doesn’t quite stand out like Edwards, but his game speed is good and I have some hope that he’ll be impressive come time for training camp.
Caught a little of the work being done by Jordan Pugh and Aaron Francisco. They’re certainly athletic, but safety is a tough position to evaluate with no pads. Credit to Francisco for at one point recognizing a gap in the defensive formation and pointing it out.
